


He's Pretty, Grandma

by SilverRoseofLight



Series: Second Chances [1]
Category: Ib (Video Game)
Genre: Fluff, Gen, Huge time gap, Ib and Mary are old, No Romance, Together Forever ending, prologue of sorts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-31
Updated: 2017-07-31
Packaged: 2018-12-09 06:47:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 790
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11663805
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SilverRoseofLight/pseuds/SilverRoseofLight
Summary: Ib brings someone new to meet Garry.





	He's Pretty, Grandma

As the gallery opened once again, he waited.

Sapphire orbs scanned the crowd pouring into the art museum, anxiously darting around until settling on a familiar pair. Some gray streaks were in their hair, but he could never forget their faces, even if decades had passed since they first met.

"Hello, Garry."

Despite knowing how only one of them could hear him, he smiled. "Hello, Ib," he replied. "And you too, Mary."

The picture-perfect lady averted her gaze, making her sister and Garry frown. 

"Mary," he chided gently. "How many times do I have to tell you that it's alright. I forgave you years ago, remember?"

She closed her eyes and took deep breaths until she could look at Forgotten Portrait without tearing up.

Garry sighed. Mary was still guilty for having...killed? him in her escape to the real world. He didn't quite understand if he had died when Mary plucked all the petals of his rose since he was alive. . .in a sense. At least Mary made good use of his life. She had helped many lives by becoming a nurse. Garry's life? He was just a halfhearted art student who worked part time at a cafe known for its macaroons. That wasn't to say waking up cold and stiff and not quite dead but not quite alive had been an easy adjustment. There were still times when Garry wondered if he truly did forgive Mary or if he just understood her situation enough to not completely hate her. And it _was_ a lie, maybe he had finally told it enough times to convince himself. 

"So," Mary said, her cheerful composure somewhat regained, "there's someone we'd like you to meet."

The man didn't like the sound of that. The last time he had been introduced to someone, it was Ib's ten-year-old daughter, Isabelle. The child had thought that her mother was going nuts, and Ib's visits to the gallery halted for quite some time due to this. Garry had Mary as the only real-world person to talk to until Isabelle entered her late teens. Nonetheless, he tried to keep his mind open and hoped that this time would be different.

Ib gently tugged the arm of a little girl hiding behind her. The child hesitantly looked up at his painting, and for a moment, Garry was seeing Ib for the first time all over again. The nine-year-old's dark brown hair was styled similarly to his friend's, but the bangs were kept back with a black headband. Her auburn orbs curiously darted about the Forgotten Portrait as she gaped in awe. 

She went on her tiptoes to whisper in Ib's ear, but like many young children, controlling volume wasn't one of her strong suits. "He's really pretty, Grandma."

"Pretty?" Garry echoed with a raised eyebrow.

Mary giggled while Ib smiled. "This is the friend I've been telling you about. Garry, this is my granddaughter, Iden."

The little girl turned her amber eyes to the painting once more, and grinned widely. "Hi Garry!" she said in a half-whisper to avoid unwanted stares from the other visitors.

The painting smiled behind his frame. Yes, this one was definitely different. "Hello, Iden."

"He says hello," Mary said to the child.

"I know," she chirped.

"Oh did you now?" Due to being a creation of Guertena, Mary could hear all the gallery's inhabitants whose paintings or sculptures were displayed in the real world. She could even see the movements of the paintings flicker like a television channel suffering static if she tried hard enough. She had been the interpreter for her sister and Garry as soon as she realized that she could still communicate with her true siblings to some degree. "How did you hear what he said?" Ib gave her sister an unheeded warning look to not tease her granddaughter any further. "What is he saying now, Iden? I'd love to know."

"He not saying anything 'cuz he's watching us," she answered without skipping a beat. She turned to the painting once more. "Isn't that what you're doing right now? Oh wait, don't say anything yet okay? If you do then Grand-Auntie Mary would be right and I'd be wrong."

Garry smiled at the little child and shrugged at Mary when the blonde finally decided to look into the gallery after waiting for him to answer. The lady rolled her eyes as she let her vision return to the real world. "Hmm," she huffed playfully. "I think already he likes you more than he likes me."

"Really?" Iden's grin widened. "Does that mean you'll be my friend?"

The large, amber eyes gazed at him innocently, expectantly. Garry wondered if it was possible to smile even more.

"How could I possibly say no?"

**Author's Note:**

> This takes place after the Together Forever ending, but Garry was injured in a different incident so that he would still have Ib's handkerchief.


End file.
